Rotary card filing device



Aug. 8, 1950 E. E. KNITTEL.

ROTARY CARD FILING DEVICE Filed Feb. 1, I94? 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR[MIL E. KN/TTEL ATTORNEY Aug. 8, 1950 E. E. KNITTEL ROTARY CARD FILINGDEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 1, 1947 j m 5 w INVENTOR [MIL E.KN/TTEL ATTORNEY Patented Aug. 8, 1950 ROTARY CARD FILINGDEVICE EmilKnittel, Malverne, N. Y. Application February 1, 1947, Serial No.725,949

5 Claims.

This invention relates to devices for filing cards, and the like andmore particularlyto ro-,

tary. filing devices. 1

AsI pointed out inmy application Serial No.

564,563 filed November 22, 1944, now Patent Number 2,418,357, it is notuncommon practice in many types of businesses to have -a filing systemwherein information, data or records are. kept on individual cards. Thecards may be used for various purposes and it is customarytokeep them ina, systematiclmanner in files where they may be referred toconveniently. In some systems. it

is necessary to remove and replace the cards from time to time for onepurpose or another.

In that application I showed a filing cabinet having a rotary drum whichis provided with an annular recessin which to insert cards to be filedand I disclosed therein the use of an end lessybelt having one of itsruns adjacent the underside of the drum to prevent the cards in therecess from falling out when the drum is rotated. Since filing thatapplication I havemade im-- provements upon my original disclosure, thefeatures of which are advantageous in the construction ofcertain typesof filing cabinets which lembody an endless belt. v

The embodiments disclosed herein utilize the principle of an endlessbelt to prevent cards from falling away from the drum, which principleis disclosed in my above-mentioned appli cationibut the arrangement ofthe upper run or runs of the endless belt or belts may be modified. Inaddition I have provided atvery simple yet most effective arrangementfor mounting the bearings which; support the drum axle for rotationwhich at the same time provides for strengthening the side walls of .thecabinet enclosing the drum. Also included is the provision of ,an at.-

tractive yet light hand ring forthe card filing drum which has beenfound to be desirablein some types now in commercialproduction. Althoughthe novel features which are believed to be characteristic of thisinvention will be pointed out in the claims appended hereto,

its objects and advantages; and the manner in which it may be carriedout, may be better understood by reference to the following descriptiontaken in connection with the accompanying drawings forming a parthereof, inwhich Fig. 1 is a side view in elevation partly broken away toexpose a cross-section ofa filingcabinet in accordance with my inventionshowing a single belt arrangement and, .among other things, the

means for mounting the drum axle bearings Fig. 3 is a partial view incross-section to larger scale. showing the hand ring and the way itfis;secured to a drumsidewall disk; i i i a I Fig. 4 is a partial ,viewtolargerscale showing the shape of the c'ompartment-formin'gymezn bers andthe way they .are secured tothe drum side wall disks; y y l y Fig. 5 isa viewin crosssection of a filing cabi l net showing the manner ofmounting. the endless belt or belts so-ithat their upper runsjlmaybe.

"positioned above the axis of rotation of the drum cry of sidejwall diskZ2 extenlds outwardly lfroin axle 2,5 to which the side disks the Viewbeing online 5-5 of Fig.6; and v Fig. 6 is aplan view of Fig. 5 with thetop fwau of the enclosure cabinetremoved at line 6-6 of, Fig.5. H

Referringnowmore particularly to Figs. 1 to; 4, there is shown a drum l0having card filingl compartments at its periphery; The drum is: mountedfor rotation within a box-shaped cabia} net or housing I I Anendlessbelt 12 having .one, of its runs adjacent the compartmentsis provided,to prevent cardsmountedcn the drum from 'fall ing out ofthecoinpartments when the compartments are below the axis of the drum.

The enclosure cabinet. I l is made of sheet in et-L51;

preferably of lig ht weight; It comprises side walls r l3 and; end wallsl5. and I6 havinginturnedi fiangesto iorm base. members H and i8, and a,topywall l9 The top wall is provided with an. opening 20, throughdrumextendsl .v v i a The. drum, designated generally by referencenumeral in, comprises a sidebdiskll, a side disk 22 and a cylindricalring, or band 23,...it being noted that the diameter ofithe band :23 isless; than the diameter of the sidewall disks and when}, mounted asshown there is provided an annular recess 24. The drum maybe so designedthat. the recess has a, width and depth to accqmmo j date anygivengsizeyof cards. The drum bases V 2l and22arel se cured. Mounted inthe recess and circumferen j tially SD vQ dab utthedrum arecompartment-g forming plates .26. 'Ifhese plates together with the sideWall disksZl and ZZYand fiat ring at the periphery ofthedrum ill. n n

It will benotedj that the periphery of side wall disk 2i isoutwardlyandthen inwardly rollecljto; form a rounded peripheral edge 28.y The periphform a plurality of card filing compartmentsiz'l.

the center-@iurther than does the periphery 1-5: f k 1 an t erm ei in anan u u 2 which servesasfa means forsecuring a hand OFFICE which theupper part ostni truded plastic tubing material which may be formed intoa ring to register with the periphery of the drum disk. To secure it tothe disk an annular groove 3| is milled in the side wall of thering-shaped tube 30 and the hand ring is fastened by screws 32 to theflat part 29 which registers with the groove 3 I.

The compartment-forming plates 26 are of a width to set snugly withinthe recess '24 and they have a height so that-the upper edge 33 is aboutflush with the peripheral edge 28 of disk 2 I. The height of the plates26 is such as to accommodate the height of cards to be filed on the drumand the Width of the compartments, that is; the width of the recess 24,corresponds to the width of the cards. It is to be particularly notedthat the outer edge of each plate has a projection 34which provides abearing surface 35 upon which the run 36 of the belt I2 rides. Theseprojections 34 with their bearing surfaces contacting the run 36 ofthe'b'elt'eliminate's an undue pressure on the cards 3I in the lowerpart ofthe'drum as the arrangement is such thatthefpres'sure of the beltis against theplatestfi and the cards in the lower dompartmentsm'ay reston the belt.

The endless belt I2 is trained over ballbearing, rollers 40 and 4|mounted in brackets secured td c'rcass pieces 132 and "43and'oversimilar rollers 4 4 and 45 "mounted in. brackets secured to theb'a'se'rn'emb'ers Ilian'd I18 respectively. The belt isendlessj and maybe 'ofjany' suitable material but preferably of rubberized compositionhaving sIdfme elasticity but whichwill not be materially affec ed bytemperature or humidity changes.

It will be observed that the belt is so arranged that'a'substantialrun'is adjacent to and in contactwith the p'lates 25, it being necessaryto ha've meme-lent length of ,run that the belt lies adjac entthat arcof the drum" belowits axis so that cards will not fall out of theircompartments whenthe drumds" rotated or when the compare mehts'are'under the axis b1 the drum.

The drum I is 50 mounted in the cabinet that asubstantial'len'gth of,arc above its axis extends through'the opening20 in the top wall of thecabinet. Thus cards in the compartmen'ts in thisupper are are accessiblefor r'ernoval'or replacement or to be otherwise handled. The inner edgesoffcards 31' in these compartments rest onthe band'23. It will beunderstood fromvthe foregoingthat theouter edges of the cards in thecornpaitments below the axis rest on the belt and the cards are therebyretained in their compartments. Consequently, the cards neednot beprovided with holes, slots or other means for holdiiifg them onthe-drum.

Inasmuch as there is a considerable weight to be'carried when thefiling" dru'mis provided with a'iull complement of c'ardsandit isdesirable to construct even the larger I sizes of' cabinets oflightweight sheet metal, I have provided simple yet' effectiveframemembers for mounting the bearings which carry the drum axle which inturn carries the weight of the drum. At the sametime the sidewalls ofthecabinet are strengthened byv the frame members which carry the bearings.The journals 49 at the ends of the drum axle 25 extendinto and ride inbearings 50 and I. These bearings are of the self-lubricating type andhave a'sir'nple tubular shape. The bearings 50 and 5! are carried onvertical angle iron-framing mem- Hers 52, 52 and 53, 53secur'ed tothecabinet side walls I4 and I3 respectively. To hold the bearings inplace on these angle irons theflanges are pressed out as shown in Fig. 1to 'form' a cupshaped cavity 48 to receive and hold the bearing. Thus,for example, flange 54 is pressed out at 55 and flange 56 is pressed outat 51 to conform with the exterior shape of the bearing so that thebearing 5I can be merely pressed into the cavity 43 and it will beretained there. This arrangement provides a very strong, ruggedconstruction.

It may be noted also that plates 26 are provided with projections '58,one or more on each side edge. In assembling the drum these projectionsextend through registering radially disposed apertures 60 in the sidewall disks 2I' and 22 and. are thenpeened over as shown at 59. Thisarrangement provides a drum of great strength even though lightweightaluminum sheet metal is used I in its construction.

size because in other types suffi'cient space must be allowed on thedrum to fasten the-cards to'it and thisoften requires a distortion ofthe cards.

In my device this drawback is eliminated. Whenj it is desired to moveany compartment to" the upper part of the cabinet so that the cards" inthat compartment will be exposed at the opening 2!! allthat need be doneis to rotate the drum.

This is facilitated by using the hand ring 30..

Those cards which are in the compartments below the axis can not 'fallout as they 'ride along 'oni't he run 36 or the belt I2 adjacent thecompartments, it being understood, of course,that thebelt moves along"with the rotation of the drum. It' maybe noted also that the cabinet ismounted on casters n so that it may be moved with facility from'place toplace.

To illustrate the feature of an endless belt ar- 40" rangem'ent whereinone run of the beltis adjacent theperiphery of the drum andextending'below its axis while the upper run extends across the cabinetabove the drum axis, I have chosen to Y show in Figs. 5 and 6 a cabinethaving two end-. less belts. It'will be understood, however, that thisarrangement may be adapted to a single belt cabinet.

Asshown, the cabinet comprises side walls H3 and H4, endv walls H5 andH6, and a removable top' wall H9. The top wall has an opening I20through which the top part of drum I I0 extends. The end walls haveinturned flanges forming base members H1 and H8.

The drum. I'ID comprises two side disks I2I and I22 each alike andsimilar to disk 2| shownin Fig.2. A cylindrical band I23 providing anannular' recess I24 within which are a plurality of circumferentiallyspaced compartment-forming members I26 to form a plurality of cardcompartments I2! around the periphery of the drum.

The drum is secured to an axle I25 mounted so that its journals rotatein bearings I5-I mounted in cups I48 formed in the. flanges of channelirons 154w and 1541), arranged in similar'fashion" as those shown inFigs. 1 and 2. It is to be noted, however, that the axle I25 extendsthrough side wall H4 to'provide a stub shaft I25a to which is secured ahand wheel I39.

' Stantial run lies adjacent the card compartv Thus upon rotation of thehand wheel, the drum rotates.

mentsnnder the drum and the other run returns across the upper part ofthe cabinet above the drum axis. This arrangement includes a pairofliorizontally disposed shafts 200 and 20! mounted to rotate inbearings 203 secured to the side walls H3 and H4 of the cabinet. Toshaft 20| are secured a pair of flanged rollers 204 and 205 and to shaft200 are secured a pair of like rollers206 and 201. These shafts 200 and2M are located a short distance below the top wall I IQ of the cabinet.Mounted for rotation in brackets 208 secured to the end walls H5 and H6are two pairs ,offlanged rollers 209 and 2I0; and 2H and,

2|2. I These rollers are mounted to rotate with theirQaxes verticallydisposed. It will be noted,

that these rollers 200 to 2| 2 are also located a slight distance belowthe top wall I I9 of the cabinet.

An endless belt designated generally by reference character 2| 3 istrained over rollers 204, 206, 209 and 2m and a similar endless belt 214is trained over rollers 205, 201, 2 and H2. Inasmuch as each of thesebelts operatesin the same way except that one is on one side of the drumand the other on the other side of the drum, it will suifice to describebelt 2 M. This belt as will be observed in the drawings has lower run2l5 extending under the drum adjacent the compartments, the belt thengoes over roller 205 where it twists and then rides over roller 212, theupper run 216 then extends along the length of the cabinet over roller2| I and then twists to go over roller 201. The arrangement of belt 213is the same on the other side of the cabinet except that it is trainedover rollers 204, 206, 209 and H0; the upper run 2l6a extending acrossthe cabinet above the axis of the drum.

The provision of two belts as shown is very desirable in certain typesof larger cabinets. It will be noted also that all the rollers areaccessible by merely removing the top plate I I9 from the cabinet.

While two belts have been shown in the embodiment of Figs. 5 and 6 itwill be understood that a, single belt might be used in which case thelower run adjacent the compartments at the lower part of the drum wouldpreferably be centered as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. In this case all thatis required is to locate a single flanged roller, such as roller 205, inthe center of shaft and a. like roller in the center of shaft 200, In

this case the pair of rollers 209 and 210 or the pair of rollers 2H and2l2 can be dispensed with.

To operate the device shown in Figs. 5 andfi, the drum may be rotated asin the case of the embodiment of Figs. 1 and 2, and the hand wheel I30may be used to facilitate the movement. Upon rotation of the drum anyunderside compartments may be brought to the top where the cards thereinare readily accessible for removal or replacement or other handling. Itwill be apparent that cards in the compartments at the lower part of thedrum are kept from falling out by the run of the belt lying adjacentthese compartments and when the drum is rotated the endless belt orbelts, as the case may be, move along with the periphery of the drum.Casters Ml are provided to facilitate moving the cabinet from place toplace.

The terms and expressions which have been employed herein are used asterms of description and not of limitation and there is no intention inthe use of such terms and expressions of excluding any equivalent of thefeatures shown and described or portions thereof, but it is recognizedthat various modifications are possible within the scope of inventionclaimed.

What is claimed is:

l, A rotary card filing device comprising, a l

support; a drum mounted on said support for ro-j of substantiallyradially extendin partition members mounted between said flanges forsubdividing the said annular space into individual card compartments,said partition members hav- V ing an upper edge portion protruding abovethe 1 "'upper edge of cards in said compartments; an

endless belt trained around the lower portion of said drum and engagingsaid partition members at their protruding edge portions; and means forsupporting said belt on said support for freedom to move with said drumwhen the drum is rotated, said supporting means tensioning the belt tobear against said partition members, said belt tension being sustainedby said partition members, cards in said compartments being relievedfrom the belt tension.

2. A rotary card filing device comprising, a cabinet; a drum mounted insaid cabinet for rotation about a substantially horizontal drum axis,said drum having an annular recess about its periphery; an endless belttrained around the lower portion of said drum; a plurality ofsubstantially radially extending partition members circumferentiallyspaced in said recess for subdividing said recess into a plurality ofcard compartments adapted to hold file cards, said par tition membershaving an upper edge portion for engaging said belt within said lowerportion of the drum and spacing said belt from the bottom of saidcompartments a distance greater than the height of the cards, wherebythe belt tension is sustained by said partition members and the cards insaid compartments are relieved from the belt tension.

' 3. A rotary card filing device comprising, a support; a drum mountedon said support for rotation about a substantially horizontal axis, saiddrum including a pair of lateral flanges providing between them acircumferential annular space adapted to receive file cards; a pluralityof substantiall radially extending partitions mounted between saidflanges for subdividing the said annular space into a plurality ofindividual card compartments, said partitions having tab portionsprojecting above the remainder of the upper edge of the partition; anendless belt trained around the lower portion of said drum :and engagingsaid partition at their respective tab portions: and means forsupporting said belt on said support for freedom to move with said drumwhen the drum is rotated, said supporting means tensioning the belt tobear against said tab portions, the belt tension being sustained by saidpartitions and cards in said compartments being relieved from the belttension.

4. A rotary card filing device which comprises an enclosing cabinethaving side walls, end walls, and a top wall having an aperture therein;a drum having an annular recess about its periphery; frame memberssecured to said side walls; bearings supported by said frame members formounting said drum in said cabinet for turning about a substantiallyhorizontal axis, the top portion of the drum protruding through saidapertures; an endless belt train-ed around the lower portion of saiddrum; rollers supporting said belt in said cabinet under tenslonand withfreedom to move with said drum when the drum is rotated; a-plurality ofsubstantially radially extending: partition members circumferentially,spaced: in said recess for subdividing said recess into va plurality of;card compartments adaptedto holdfile cards,- said. partition membershaving annpper-ed-ge portion forengaging. said belt within said lower;

portion of the drum (andspacing said beltfrom EMIL E. REFERENCES CITEDThe following references are of recordinzthe'iri.

the bottom of said compartments-a.distance 10;.fi1e of this patent:

greater than the height of the cards, whereby the belt tension issustained-by saidipartition members and thecards in saidcompartmentsarerelieved from the belt tensionr 5.- A, rotary cardfilingdeviceas set forth in 15 claim 4 :in which =the-endless belt is trainedover i UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,030,898 Langdale July2,1912 i 2,235,736 Bruen Mar. 18, 1941- 2,418,357 Knittel Apr. .1, 1947"

